


Downfall

by postmanlink



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 08:10:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11180637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/postmanlink/pseuds/postmanlink
Summary: The Hero of Time deserved so much better.Heavily inspired by the events of Breath of the Wild.





	Downfall

It was time.

Surrounded by flames, the Hero held the sword that had turned his life around. It was almost unnoticeable, but there was fear in Ganon’s eyes once the boy took the blade. Yes, boy – because in spite of everything, Link was just a child. A child that, just seven years before – or, perhaps more appropriately, _months_ – lived in a forest away from Hylian civilization and knew nothing of his destiny.

And now he faced the King of Evil at his most powerful.

It was a divine prank, the Princess would often say, that the Hero of Time was, at best, seventeen. Had she said those words in his presence, she was sure he would agree, if only to shrug and move on to his next objective, as he always did. Because, somehow, he never protested or faltered – at least not in front of her.

She wondered if he, on his bleakest days, ever felt like giving up and let the Gods do their work. _Their_ work, yes, because fighting evil shouldn’t be a child’s responsibility. It shouldn’t be his, it shouldn’t be hers. It should be the Golden Goddesses on that battlefield with Ganon, _dammit_ , not Link!

So the Princess decided, on the spur of the moment, that she would fix him. He had seven important years robbed from him, and she would give them back, even if he came to resent her – not that she would ever know, for they would then live in completely different worlds. And she was sure they would – because she knew he was smart, and would stop Ganondorf before he even _became_ Ganondorf – Link would live in a happier world, the one he truly _deserved_.

But the Gods didn’t care for what he deserved.

Their answer came with the sound of metal piercing flesh, and an agonizing cry. For a moment, Zelda refused to look – she saw it, and she _knew_ what it was, but her mind refused to accept the image her eyes saw through the flames.

Link had been stabbed.

Pain surged through Zelda’s entire being, as if she had been impaled herself, and not Link. Her vision started to blur, and her hearing gave way to a ringing that got louder with each passing second. She felt warm – no, she felt _hot_ , as if she burned inside. She likely _did_.

Ganon’s shoulders moved, as if he laughed, and he pulled the bloodstained sword out of Link’s body. Before he could fall to the ground, however, he was effortlessly shoved to the side by the beast that towered over him, and he curled up near the fire once he fell, clutching his stomach in pain.

Zelda’s pain was searing, and she struggled to stand. Her vision had gone black, the ringing in her ears felt deafening, and she thought she would die, too, but then suddenly—

She saw light.

It was blinding, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from it, and it engulfed her entirely. It was gold, akin to the mark on the hand that she didn’t remember holding out in front of her. She felt the power of the Sages joining hers, with the light turning white, and Zelda closed her eyes this time.

When she opened them again, her heart skipped a beat – Ganon was still there, in spite of everything. Still in his beastly form, and chained by her power, he lay on the ground unconscious and didn’t breathe, but she knew he wasn’t dead. Somehow, in the back of her mind, she knew that it wasn’t over – this was just the beginning of something bigger, and she would have to act fast lest he destroyed the world before her first move.

In a few moments, Zelda’s hearing came back to normal, and she almost wished she had gone deaf once she heard the Hero of Time whimper.

“ _Link!_ ”

She was exhausted and disoriented, but she crossed the dying flames and rushed to his side as if her life depended on it. Near his own sword and the one that had passed through his body, he lay with his back facing her, the blood from the exit wound staining the ground and his entire tunic red.

With trembling hands, she rested him on her knees and cradled his head, not bothered by the bloodstains that would never leave the fabric. She brushed his hair off his face, and tears welled up in her eyes once she saw that he was smiling.

“Princess,” he said weakly, barely louder than a whisper. He reached up with his hand to touch her cheek, brushing a stray hair away from her eye. “You’re safe.”

Zelda nodded, biting her lip with a frown, and pressed his hand against her face. “I am,” she said, no louder than his voice. “Thank you.”

Link let his hand rest, and Zelda’s eyes trailed off to where it landed – a huge wound on his stomach. Her heart tightened, and in sudden desperation, she brought her right hand above the wound. She contracted and relaxed her fingers repeatedly, in hopes that any energy would come out like it had before – but as yet another divine prank, not a single spark came out.

She felt a lump in her throat, and it was then that she broke out in a sob. Link brought his bloodied hand once again to her face, but this time all she could do was cry.

“Link— I—“ Her gasps stopped her from talking, and she took a moment to even out her breathing, even if it was useless.

“Zelda,” he whispered before she attempted to speak, repeatedly wiping at the stream of tears that came out of her eyes. “Don’t cry. Please.”

Link’s already weak and pained voice now had an extra strain to it, and Zelda could see behind his fluttering eyelids that he, too, was crying. 

A few tears rolled down his cheeks as he blinked, mixing with blood, and it was clear to Zelda that he struggled to keep his eyes open and focused. He looked at her once more before barely saying, “I’m sorry.”

“Please—” A gasp interrupted her once again, but she continued. “Please don’t be—”

This time, what interrupted her was not a gasp nor a whimper, but Link’s hand falling limply away from her face instead.

“Link,” she called out, in spite of his closed eyes and lack of motion. She cupped his face with her hand, turning it to face her with a strong grip. “ _Link_ … _!_ ”

He didn’t reply.

Zelda stared at his lifeless form for a moment, before she came down weeping into his chest.

Everything leading up to that moment had been for nothing. The moments they spent together, the seven-year sleep in the Sacred Realm, his _entire_ childhood – gone. It was all gone, in spite of the person he had been – in spite of the _hero_ he had been, because the Gods were not only apathetic, but also ungrateful.

Zelda didn’t know how long she stayed there with Link, but once she cried away all her tears, she gently placed him on the ground beside her, rose to her feet and took the Master Sword in her hand. She had to act fast, after all, and she already knew what to do and where to go.

As soon as she touched the hilt, however, she suddenly knew, as if the sword spoke to her – no, she shouldn’t take it to the Temple of Time – she should take it somewhere else, somewhere _safer_.

So she left the ruins of what once had been Ganon’s lair and Hyrule Castle before that, and started making her way to a different place – a secluded forest, one that only the wise may find – where she could put the sword to rest until it was time. There was no reason for it to be awake anymore.

The Hero had been defeated, after all.


End file.
